


Fire and Ice

by canyoubelievesomeone



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Crossdressing, M/M, tomco - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-09 23:39:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11115312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canyoubelievesomeone/pseuds/canyoubelievesomeone
Summary: Marco and Star use magic to disguise themselves and sneak into an exclusive party. All they're hoping for is a fun night out. Instead, they end up fleeing from a flooding venue and a bewildered Tom.





	1. Ice Queen Marco

**Author's Note:**

> Light swearing, but everything else is pretty much PG.

Marco sat on the floor of Star’s bedroom, legs crossed and leaning towards her as she removed a silver tube from her purse.

“I’m _really_ not sure about this,” he said.

“Shh! I can’t add the Galactic Ice Crystal Gloss if you talk!” Star chastised.

He straightened up. “Uh. Galactic what?”

Star gave him an impatient look and lathered the gloss on his lip before he could protest any further.

“It won’t dry if you move,” she said. “Hold still. Don’t talk.”

It was so rare to see Star so genuinely focused on something that he decided to comply. He breathed out through his nose in a dissident huff as the gloss on his lips began to harden.

Star moved on to waving her wand and adding silver glitter along his eyebrows.

“Hmm. Mmm. Uh….” Star princess murmured. “Okay. I think we’re done now. Now for the rest of you! Stand up!”

Marco quickly rose to his feet and Star waved her wand again.

“Radiant shadow transport!” Star exclaimed as she waved her wand at him. Then she stepped aside, allowing him to see his reflection in her mirror.

He looked like an ice princess. The magic gloss that Star used made his lips look like authentic clear quartz crystals. The silver glitter around his brown eyes looked as soft as the frost on cold winter days.

And the _dress_. Marco knew he looked good in dresses, but he never thought he’d wear one so elegant. The pale blue dress contrasted beautifully against his tan skin. The sleeves were sheer with a snowflake pattern along them that transcended to a thicker fabric at his shoulders, where sharp crystals jutted out like growing icicles. The corset was admittedly uncomfortable, but it synched up his figure – a new one that he was completely unfamiliar with.

He still wasn’t sure about this. Being transformed into looking like a completely different person in order to sneak into an exclusive party with Star was risky.

Of course, they had done far crazier things in the past. They defeated Ludo and Toffee. They signed a treaty of coexistence and civility between the monsters and the people of Mewni. Things had been … _relatively_ peaceful. But with them both eighteen now, life had gotten complicated. Star was being groomed into taking the throne in the next couple years and Marco was going away to college that summer after he graduated high school.

They both needed this. Just one day as someone else at a party where no one could recognize them.

Marco was so busy looking at the girl version of himself in the mirror – playing with his long hair and eyeing the padding in the dress that gave the appearance of breasts – that he missed Star’s transformation.

She chose to change her hair color to a soft pink, matching the fluffy ball gown she wore. It had more ruffles than Marco’s, but it was lighter than his, with less sequins. Star’s eyes had also been changed into a gold color with flecks of brown in them and the hearts on her cheeks were completely hidden behind her magic.

They looked at each other and grinned.

It was going to be a fun night.

 

After taking a portal to a closet near the ballroom, they snuck in and slipped seamlessly onto the dance floor.

They already had their stories straight. Marco made damn sure of that by making their names into anagrams and helping Star come up with backgrounds for themselves. Star was Lady Tras of Inmew. Marco was her best friend and plus one, Lady Macor. They had been invited to the party by the host’s third cousin, Andy, who Star made sure wouldn’t be attending to discredit their lie.

Marco didn’t ask how she had done that. And something told him he didn’t want to know.

He still wasn’t sure what this party was _for_ either. Star had mentioned something about a birthday, but he didn’t know whose. All he knew was that this was an opportunity to have fun without being recognized and that’s all he really wanted at the moment.

The duo walked together through an archway into a much larger part of the ballroom where people were dancing wildly. Music was blaring and lights were flashing wildly. To the left and right of the room there was no wall, but a thick layer of glass holding back an ocean of different creatures Marco had never seen.

“Are we underwater?” he asked Star, still getting used to the new weight on his crystalized lips and the magic that changed the sound of his voice.

Star nodded enthusiastically. “The host is the king of Amphibia. There’s a section for guests somewhere that’s all underwater too!”

Marco was even more amazed as they made their way to a dance floor where the bottom of it was also glass, exposing coral and fish below.

They started to dance and blend into the crowd, dancing for about half an hour before a floating purple silk hood came towards them. There was a very familiar horn poking out from the top of it.

“Pony Head?” Star gasped. “I can’t believe she’s here! Why didn’t she invite me?”

“Maybe she’s here incognito too?” her friend suggested. “It’s not like her to wear capes. Or … clothes in general.”

“I’m going to go investigate!”

“Okay. You do that. I’m gonna get something to drink. Do you want something?” Marco asked.

“Nope!” Star said, already dancing towards the mysterious caped figure.

He made his away to the drinks and snacks, taking a cup with a straw off the counter. He stared uneasily at the strange green drink, but shrugged and took a sip, as difficult as a task as that was with his crystalized lips.

It tasted bitter, but it was refreshing and that was all that mattered.

He took the cup back with him towards the ballroom and was temporarily mesmerized by the strange creature swimming away behind the glass.

It was the size of a whale, but it had the tentacles of a jellyfish and the face of an angler fish. Pretty terrifying actually.

Marco felt someone standing beside him and turned to look.

Tom stood there in a tux, looking at the same creature Marco had been watching.

“Eh. My pet is bigger,” Tom grumbled.

“You have a pet?” Marco couldn’t help but ask. Since when did he have a pet?

“Yeah. A three-headed dog. I named him Fluffy.”

Marco raised his eyebrows. How did he not know that? Why hadn’t he met Fluffy before? They had been frienemies for years and yet there was still so much he didn’t know about the underworld prince. Even with Tom being so open about some things, he was so secretive about others. He never spoke of what it was like to rule the underworld or his duties there. It was rare that he even let Marco _visit_ the underworld.

It was almost like Tom wanted to keep Marco separate from his work, though Marco never knew why.

Tom watched him curiously before holding out his hand. “I don’t think we’ve meet. I’m Tom Lucitor, prince of the Underworld.”

“M-Macor. Lady Macor. Of Inmew,” Marco stammered as the prince took his hand.

Tom kissed Marco’s knuckles gently. “Pleasure to meet you.”

A blush crept along Marco’s cheeks and he panicked as Tom released his hand.

This was wrong and he knew he should leave. Tom would be surprised if he found out the truth of who Lady Macor was and, in a way, he felt like this was a sort of deception.

Then again, this was an opportunity to learn more about Tom. He could see a whole different side of him as Lady Macor that he would never get otherwise.

In the end, curiosity won out and he stayed where he was.

“You said you were from Inmew?” Tom asked. “Where is that?”

“Uh … It’s distant … in a galaxy far, far away.”

Tom looked at him curiously and Marco smiled back, too pleased with his own reference.

“Are you here alone?” Marco asked.

“Yeah. I lost a bet.”

“What bet?”

“I bet King Aquamarine that I could steal something from Hekapoo. I’ve done it before, but … I wasn’t able to get away this time.”

“But … how is coming to this party a punishment?”

Tom grinned slyly and leaned closer. “To me, this isn’t a _real_ party. I have a completely different way of partying.”

Marco blushed again, something he was _sure_ he didn’t do quite as often when he was dressed as himself …

“C’mon,” Tom said. “You aren’t really having fun here, right?”

“No, I am. There’s the music. The atmosphere.” Marco gestured at the drink in his hand. “And this … thing.”

“I’m glad one of us is then.”

“Why can’t you let yourself have a good time? Everyone else is out there dancing.”

“I … can’t. Though I guess being here is easier than managing the dumb underworld and all its dumb inhabitants.”

Marco eyed Tom’s scowl, his crossed arms, and his slumped shoulders. He rarely saw him so uncomfortable. When they were together, Tom’s emotions ran free. Even though he had anger issues, he had learned to express them in healthier ways and Marco had learned to never take his shit when he went too far over the edge.

Was this what Tom was really like? Without Marco?

“If you could be anywhere else, where would you be?” Marco asked softly.

Tom was reluctant to answer. “With my friend. I guess.”

“Which friend?”

“He’s not … even really a friend, I guess. He doesn’t like me. And as much as I like him, I could never … I’m not good enough for him, so …”

Tom retreated back into himself, shutting down once again.

A glimmer of a cape caught Marco’s eyes. He looked across the ballroom where Star was dancing with the figure. The cape slid off her head and revealed a dancing Pony Head, who was precariously backing her horn towards a glass wall.

“Look out!” he yelled, but it was too late.

Pony Head ran into the glass and a long crack made its way up the wall. Droplets of water began to leak through.

The room went completely silent. Then, a cry from a stringy man – literally made of string – startled everyone into action.

“ _Evacuate!_ ” he cried.

Within moments, everyone was stampeding to the nearest exits. Portals were being made left and right by those who had scissors. Others were being bashed around, trying to get away, but too slow to avoid the horde of bodies moving past.

“I need to go.” Marco quickly told Tom.

“Wait, I –”

It all happened very quickly. When Tom stepped forward, he accidentally stepped on Marco’s dress. And when Marco turned back around, the dress made him lose his balance and he tripped, almost spilling his drink.

He would have fallen if Tom had not caught him by the waist. Their faces were close together, lips barely two inches apart.

They stared at each other in bewilderment before a voice tore them apart.

“Marco!” Star cried out, running towards him.

Tom released him and continued to stare. “Marco?”

Star grabbed Marco’s wrist, glancing back at Tom in surprise. “Uh … we gotta go!”

She quickly cut a portal and they jumped through, Marco just barely hearing the shattering of the glass behind him.


	2. Closeted Marco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise next chapter will be longer!

Marco was pacing the room, face in his hands, screaming.

“What’s the big deal?” Star asked as her magical creatures rubbed her feet.

“Our faces were so close! What if he had accidentally kissed me? And then you came in and blew my cover… What is he going to think?” He groaned and got down on the floor, laying there with his limbs sprawled out. “That’s it. I’ll never be able to see him again. I’m just going to have to avoid him until the day I die. And then … who knows what will happen, but hopefully that will buy me at least sixty years or so. Right?”

“Why don’t you just explain? Tell him the truth about why you didn’t tell him it was you. Which … why _didn’t_ you, Marco?”

“I-I don’t know. I should have. I … he’d already put his hand out to introduce himself and then he kissed mine after getting my fake name.”

Star laughed. “He kissed your hand?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Wow. Guess he really _does_ like you when you’re in a dress. I mean, you _were_ hugging when I found you.”

“I already told you! It _wasn’t_ a hug! He was keeping me from falling!”

She rolled her eyes. “People don’t keep holding each other for a whole second when they stop the other from falling.”

Marco sighed and sat up, putting his face in his hands, but apparently he didn’t conceal it too well.

“Whyyy are you blushing, Marco?” she asked, dragging the words out.

“Shut up! No, I’m not!”

“Why are you so embarrassed? I don’t get it.”

“I don’t know, Star!” he huffed. “I guess … I kind of … _liked_ him seeing me in a different way. I don’t know. Can you just help me keep him off my back in case he shows–”

There was a whoosh of fire at Star’s window.

Marco yelped and ran to Star’s closet to hide. “Cover for me! Don’t let him know I’m here!”

The gargoyle began to fully raise Tom’s elevator and Star squeaked nervously as the elevator beeped and opened.

“Tom! What a lovely surprise!” Star said, overenthusiastically.

“Where’s Marco?”

“Wow. That’s probably the first time you’ve completely ignored me to ask about _Marco_. Whatcha want from him, huh? Another Love Sentence concert?”

Marco cringed.

“He wasn’t supposed to tell you that!”

“… Oops.”

“Where! Is! He?!”

“Hey! I don’t know! If you don’t cool your boats, I’m kicking you out!”

 _Jets. Cool your jets_ , Marco thought to himself.

Tom took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Just … can you let him know I’m not angry and that I want to talk to him?”

“Yeah. I’ll let him know.”

Marco didn’t dare breathe until after he heard the elevator to hell lower itself down again.

“It’s safe to come out now. I don’t know how long you’re planning on avoiding him, but please don’t keep using my closet as a hiding place.”


	3. Kidnapped Marco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might add an epilogue just to wrap things up.

If he didn’t know for a fact that hell was actually a place where Tom ruled, Marco would have thought it was where he now was.

For the past week, he had been able to avoid Tom, though it hadn’t been easy. He hid in closets, under tables and even in _girl’s bathrooms_ in order to avoid the prince.

He knew that Star was getting annoyed by it, but, true to her promise, she covered for him, saying that he was off in a different dimension or Australia, which was pretty much the same thing.

But Star _did_ eventually tell Tom a little bit of truth when his carriage came rolling up one day after school.

“He just needs time. Let him talk to you when he’s ready.”

“Time for what?” An irate Tom snapped, aggressively petting his bunny. “What does he need to get ready for?”

“He’ll explain it when he’s ready.”

“ _For what?!_ ”

His life coach, Brian, tutted in disapproval.

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose. “I need to go meditate. Let Marco know I was looking for him again.”

“Will do!” Star answered, cheery as ever.

Once he was gone, Marco raised the lid of the dumpster where he had been hiding, gasping for fresh air.

“You can’t keep doing this to yourself, Marco,” his friend chastised. “Haven’t you given yourself enough time to think about whatever you’re working through?”

“It’s not that simple, Star,” he said, almost losing his balance as he got out of the dumpster.

She looked at him knowingly. “I think _you’re_ the only one that’s not making it simple.”

He sighed, catching a whiff of the dumpsters’ stench and gagging slightly. “Maybe. But right now we need to leave before I throw up.”

 

It was late afternoon. A shower and karaoke rendition of BABBA’s “Disco Girl” later, Marco was feeling much more refreshed than before. He got dressed in the bathroom and hummed Love Sentence songs, thinking about Tom.

At the very least, it was a relief to know that Tom wasn’t mad about the deception, although he did seem increasingly frustrated that Marco was avoiding him.

Had it really been that bad though? Being held by him like that?

_Did I … Did I like it?_

_Do I like him?_

It wasn’t as though it hadn’t crossed his mind, but for the first year or so, Tom still wasn’t over Star. And then … then he just wasn’t sure Tom would ever think of him like that.

It was always a passing thought. Him and Tom. Tom and him. It wasn’t something that Marco ever thought he’d actually want.

Except, for some reason, he couldn’t get Tom out of his head lately.

It didn’t help that he kept seeing Tom _literally_ everywhere he went.

As if the universe was trying to prove a point, he could hear voices coming from his bedroom as he walked down the hall.

“See! I told you he wasn’t here!” Star exclaimed, pointedly loud enough in a hope that Marco would hear.

“I’m not leaving until I find him! I _know_ he’s not in Australia!”

Tom was coming out of the bedroom.

Marco panicked.

Star grabbed Tom’s shoulders, forcing him to not turn and see Marco on the other side of the hallway. “Maybe we should check downstairs again! Maybe he came home!”

Marco turned and went down the hall to Star’s room, the only place he could think of to hide. It wasn’t as though there were many places in the bathroom for him to hide and Tom seemed to be getting desperate enough to barge in without knocking.

His eyes scanned the room.

_Closet’s off limits. Uh … Bed! Under the bed!_

Marco ducked under Star’s bed and instantly regretting his choice. There was dust and cobwebs under there. And candy that had melted down into the carpet.

_How do I keep ending up in these awful places?_

_Oh. Right. It’s my own damn fault._

He heard footsteps from the front door.

Star spoke first. “Tom. Gotta admit, buddy. This is getting a little obsessive.”

Tom took a deep breath. “Maybe you’re right. I’m sorry. Do you mind getting me a drink of water to cool me down?”

“Uh … _sure_ ,” she replied suspiciously.

_No! Star! Don’t leave me here with him!_

He groaned internally and pressed his forehead against the carpet, regretting it when a cobweb got in his face. He batted at it, brushing up dust and then quickly grabbing his nose when he got the urge to sneeze.

He could feel the urge rising in his chest and he put his other hand over his mouth.

_Come on, Marco. You handled worse than this when you were a thirty year old man trying to find Hekapoo._

_Do not sneeze!_

He sneezed.

It was the tiniest muffled squeak.

_Maybe he didn’t hear?_

Hands wrapped around his ankles and pulled hard, dragging him out from under the bed as he screamed in terror.

Tom was on him, pinning him down so he couldn’t scramble away. “What’s going on? You’ve been avoiding me ever since that party.”

“I-I …. Uh … What party?”

“Marco. Are we really going to play this game?”

“What game?”

Tom glared at him. “Okay. Guess we’re doing this the hard way then. Don’t say I didn’t give you a choice.”

There was a wave of fire and then Marco saw nothing.

 

After a fit of screaming and kicking, he found himself in a dark room somewhere, chained to a chair.

He winced as a light flickered on. It was a bright flame floating above, revealing a table and a chair across from him.

Tom was standing next to the chair, taking his coat off and setting it carefully on the back of the chair.

“Hey!” Marco yelled, tugging his restraints. “You can’t just kidnap people! We’ve had this talk already, Tom!”

“You can’t just lie to people either. We’ve had _that_ talk too, Marco.”

He scoffed. “Like you’re one to talk. You never told me you had a dog.”

“He’s a _service_ dog. He keeps people in line and I don’t like talking to you about work.”

“Why not? You told Lady Macor more about Fluffy than you ever did to me.”

“That’s because I … I’m not the one being interrogated here! You are!”

Marco rolled his eyes, but stopped to stare when Tom loosened his tie and began to roll up his white shirt sleeves.

He could feel himself blushing again.

_What the hell is happening here? Yeah, he’s an attractive guy, but I’m not actually attracted to him… Am I? Damn it. I wish he had given me more time to figure this out._

Tom took a seat, a calming breath, and a moment to plan out what to say.

“You could have told me it was you,” he murmured finally, avoiding his gaze. “You know, before I kissed your hand and all that.”

“I know. I know I should have. It’s just … there’s a lot you don’t tell me and a lot I still don’t know about you. I guess I was just curious.”

Tom frowned, looking annoyed with his answer. “I don’t like to think about that kind of stuff when I’m with you. Do you really think I want to tell you about the torture I need to put some people through? You’re too nice. You’d probably try to talk me into giving murderers a second chance.”

“I would not!”

“You once made me revive a raccoon that was dead on the side of the road because you felt bad for it! You think it’s an easy thing to bring back the dead?! The damn thing tried to attack us afterwards!”

“Yeah… True…”

“You can’t just interfere with life and death like that! It messes with the natural order of things! The only reason I do any of that is because I like you!”

Marco raised his eyebrows.

The prince blushed. “I-I, y’know. As a friend. I guess.” He sighed and stood up again, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re just … you’re too nice. And you’ve helped me a lot with my anger issues and … you cool me back down like no one else can. But I can’t afford to _not_ be wrathful in the underworld. It’s my _job_ to be wrathful. The creatures there have done unimaginable things and I want to keep you separate from that.”

Toms words from the party echoed back to Marco: _And as much as I like him, I could never … I’m not good enough for him, so …_

Was there even the smallest chance that Marco was the one he was talking about?

Dejected, Tom waved his hand and the chains disappeared from the chair.

“I’ll take you back home. I _guess_ I’m sorry for kidnapping you to get answers.”

A portal suddenly appeared and Star came crashing through. Without wasting time, she charged at Tom and high-kicked him in the face.

“Radical Sunshine Blast!” she yelled as she waved her wand.

The light blinded Tom and she used the opportunity to grab Marco out of his chair. She started to drag him away to the portal, but Marco resisted.

“Wait! I-I need to talk to him a little more,” he said.

“But he kidnapped you! Right? I mean, you said that if he ever kidnapped you again that I should kick him in the face! That’s what I did!”

“I … yeah, but …”

“So, come on!”

He glanced back at Tom, who was still rubbing his three watery eyes with the back of his hands, but making no attempt to go after them.

“It’s complicated. I’ll find my own way home, Star. Okay?”

She pursed her lips uncertainly. Finally, she smiled, punched his arm, and answered, “Stop making it complicated, you doofus. And if you’re not back in an hour, I’m using one of my strongest spells on him.”

“One hour. Got it.”

Star went back through the portal, allowing it to disappear behind her.

“Why didn’t you go with her?” Tom was squinting at him, still in obvious pain as a few tears crept out from the corners of his eyes.

“We still have more to talk about.”

“Like what?”

Marco took a deep breath. If he didn’t do something about this now, he’d keep avoiding Tom for the rest of his life.

“When we were at the party, who were you talking about when you said that you’d rather be with them?”

Tom looked surprised, then turned away, an unmistakable blush on his cheeks.

Marco stepped closer. “Was it me?”

He crossed his arms, still avoiding his gaze.

“If … If it _was_ me you were talking about, you should know that I _do_ like you. Like a lot. Like pretty much _crushing on you_ level of liking you.” He awkwardly put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. “I-I like you a lot and you shouldn’t think that you’re not good enough. Because you are.”

He was looking at him again, red eyes widened in surprise. “Y-You have a crush on me?”

“Ugh!” Marco took his hands out of his pockets and covered his burning face. “That’s why I’ve been avoiding you! Not just because the whole party experience was weird! I mean, it _was_ , but that’s not exactly why!” He started to pace the room, gesturing with his hands as he talked. “I’ve always enjoyed hanging out with you, but it wasn’t until I saw the way you were with Lady Macor that I actually started processing how I felt about you and I know I’m probably ruining things between us, but I’ve been more stressed out this last week than I was during finals – which, believe me, can’t be worse than whatever people in hell go through – and I just can’t keep this inside anymore! I-I love you!”

His heart was pounding. He looked to Tom and softly asked, “Is … that okay?”

Tom reached for Marco, pulling him closer by his shoulders and kissing him. Marco felt warmth, relief, and astonishment flooding throughout his body. His hands gently went up to Tom’s sides, holding him close, hoping he wouldn’t pull away. Hoping this wasn’t all a dream. They kissed softly and clumsily.

Tom pulled way, but kept Marco close. “That is better than okay.”


	4. Nervous Marco

The transition was surprisingly smooth. Star was more than thrilled to hear that they were dating and already had a theory of what their wedding would be like – much to Tom and Marco’s embarrassment.

Spending time together was still oddly just like hanging out had been, but with more affectionate touching and kissing, the latter of which they had gotten better at with practice.

One of their first dates involved Tom coming over for a Mackie Hand movie marathon.

Marco was nervous, fervently cleaning the entire living room in preparation. He even worked hard on making his own homemade tortilla chips, cheese dip, guacamole, and spicy salsa.

 _Does he even like nachos? How could I_ not _ask him if he liked nachos? Maybe I should make something else. Do I even have enough time for that?_

He groaned, looking at the time and scooping the gooey cheese into a serving bowl.

Tom was due to arrive any minute now and he was _not_ _prepared_.

“I’m going out with Janna!” Star sang from somewhere in the living room.

He grabbed the bowl of cheese and ran out of the kitchen. “Wait! I need your help!”

She rolled her eyes. “No, you don’t. You’ll be _fine_ , Marco.”

“What if he doesn’t like the nachos?”

“Then he won’t eat them, but he’ll still enjoy spending time with you.”

“What am I going to serve him if he doesn’t like nachos?!”

Star strode over, grabbing his shoulders and giving him a stern look. “He likes you. He’s going to be happy just being here with you.”

Marco took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and worriedly looking at her. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? Me dating your ex-boyfriend?”

“Of course, I am! That was years ago and you two are so cute together.”

“But you never really hang around when he comes over…”

Her arms dropped and shrugged. “It’s your date night. I don’t want to crowd you two.”

“Maybe we should go on a group hangout sometime. You can invite Janna too.”

“Ooh! Pony Head too?”

Marco sighed. “ _Maybe_ Pony Head too.”

Star laughed and turned away, skipping to the front door. “See you later!”


End file.
